In order to enhance their ground-gripping abilities, tires for mountain and trail bikes are commonly operated at low inflation levels. However, at rapid acceleration rates and at abrupt braking speeds, this practice produces a tendency for the frictionally-coupled tire and inner tube to rotate slightly relative to the mounting rim, especially on pavement and other hard surfaces. This relative rotation causes damage to the valve stem which protrudes through a hole in the root wall of the rim and, in extreme cases, may result in tearing the valve stem completely out of the tube. No satisfactory solution to this problem has been presented heretofore.
Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to provide a simple device which can be assembled to a lightweight wheel rim and which serves to lock the corresponding tire casing and the rim together as a unit without seriously hampering subsequent de-mounting of the tire.
A more general object of the invention is to provide a new and improved locking device for positively positioning a tire on a lightweight rim.
Another object of the invention is to provide a tire locking clip which can be retro-fit on existing rims.
These and other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following descriptions.